Mick Jagger And Martin Scorsese Talk The Making Of HBO’s ‘Vinyl’

The two-hour premiere of HBO’s new show Vinyl premieres tonight at 9 PM ET/MT and combines all the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll you can ask for in a show set in New York City in 1973.

If you’ve ever wondered what New York City was like in the 1970s, Vinyl is here to give you a history lesson. The music industry was wrought with bribes and payola, punk was growing both in the US and the UK, and much like today, artists were fighting to have their music heard. Neighborhoods were still largely segregated by race, big business was largely run by men, and the painful aftermath from World War II was still very much being felt. But man, the music was good.

The new series boasts Executive Producers Martin Scorsese (The Wolf Of Wall Street, The Departed, Gangs of New York), Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos,) and Mick Jagger (rock god). The incredible cast includes Ray Romano, Olivia Wilde, Juno Temple, Ato Essandoh, and Bobby Cannavale as Richie Finestra, the owner of American Century Records. Keep your eye out for guest appearances, including an unrecognizable Andrew Dice Clay and Mick Jagger’s son James, who plays Kip Stevens, the English leader of the fictional punk band The Nasty Bits.

Scorsese told HBO “This project began almost 20 years ago when Mick Jagger first approached me about doing a feature film set in the world of rock and roll and the rock and roll business.” Thanks to the suggestion of Producer Terence Winter, the film was changed to a TV series.

There will be no shortage of shocking moments in a show set in the tumultuous time period and location of New York City and the early 1970s, when punk, hip hop and disco were all being created within a few blocks of one another. “For me,” says Jagger, “it was an amazing place to be in the 70s.” Says Terence Winter, “The funny thing about telling stories about the rock world is that the real stories are crazier than anything I could make up.”

Of course, you can’t have a show about music without a playlist. Music Supervisor Mick Jagger has put together one of the most cinematic soundtracks in the history of television. In addition to some of the best rock and roll and blues songs ever recorded, the new series also features can’t-miss original tracks recorded just for Vinyl. Each episode has a six-figure music budget and up to 30 featured songs. Fans will get a sneak peek each week when Atlantic and Warner Bros. release digital and physical soundtracks on Friday, two days before the episode airs on Sundays. Do your homework, music lovers.

Check out the playlist for Episode 1 below and don’t miss the two-hour series premiere of Vinyl on HBO tonight at 9 PM ET/MT.